A moment later, a woman of about forty years old, leading a boy with a bruised and swollen face, entered the hall, weeping and wailing. Before she even arrived, her voice preceded her: "Your Majesty, you must do justice for me! Someone took advantage of my child's unpreparedness and beat him so badly that he's almost disfigured!"
Seeing the woman who entered crying and wailing, everyone stepped back. They were all used to it; this Princess Xian would come and cause trouble every now and then, just to get some rewards from the Emperor. It seemed she was out of money again. However, seeing the bruised and swollen face of Prince Xian's son, it looked like he had really been beaten. Everyone looked at the Emperor, who was also helpless. Prince Xian was a hero who died fighting for the country, leaving only this widow and her son at home. He definitely had to take good care of her. He rubbed his forehead and asked, "Princess Xian, tell me carefully, who hit my nephew?"
Upon hearing this, Princess Xian wiped away her tears and said pitifully, "This humble woman doesn't know either. My son was beaten like this yesterday by a group of people who covered his head. Your Majesty, look at him. He's covered in bruises and injuries. Someone thinks we, a widow and orphan, are easy to bully!"
As she spoke, she started crying again. Hearing this, everyone thought to themselves, "Who in the capital would dare to bully your son? This Prince Xian's son is always causing trouble. He either forcibly abducts women or bullies the common people. Who would dare to say a word? It's all because of Prince Xian's military achievements. I wonder who beat him up. It's really satisfying."
The Prefect of Jingzhao Prefecture stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, Jingzhao Prefecture has not received any reports. However, many people have come to report the matter of the Prince Xian's son bullying men and women. I beg Your Majesty not to believe the Princess Xian's one-sided account. I will investigate thoroughly and then report back to Your Majesty."
Officials from Prince Xian's faction were unwilling to accept this. The Minister of Personnel stepped forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, Prince Xian did die for the country. Now that Prince Xian's heir has been treated this way, we should find out who dared to harm the son of a meritorious official, so as not to let the meritorious official lose heart."
The Emperor, his face slightly cold, watched the arguing crowd. Just then, Qin Qianluo's voice suddenly rang out, "Who is this Prince Xian? What merits has he achieved? How come his son can bully men and women with impunity, but gets beaten up and has to make a scene in the Imperial Palace?"
Upon hearing this, the arguing subsided considerably, and everyone strained their ears to listen. The Emperor, too, was eager to hear who had struck the Prince of Xian's heir.
001 glanced through the pages, a child's voice laced with disdain: "Luo Bao, it's rumored that Prince Xian died for his country, so the Emperor is quite lenient with his children. As long as they don't commit murder or arson, they usually let big things go and small things disappear. Prince Xian's wife is also a crybaby; if she's a little dissatisfied or short of money, she'll come and make a scene. Today, Prince Xian's heir was beaten, and Princess Xian couldn't stand it, so she came to cause trouble."
Upon hearing this, everyone thought to themselves, "That's exactly it." The Prince Xian's faction was somewhat annoyed. "The young prince is just a bit naughty. He'll be fine when he grows up. This 001 is really impolite."
Upon hearing this, Qin Qianluo knew there was more to the story than met the eye, and asked, "Rumor has it he died for his country? What else is involved? Tell me in detail."
001 replied, "Luo Bao, that Prince Xian didn't die for his country at all. He died in bed with a woman. He was having too much fun and didn't pay attention, so he suddenly died. At the time, only his concubine was in the military tent. When Prince Xian breathed his last, she cried out in terror. The guard at the door was Prince Xian's confidant, very loyal. He went in and saw the situation inside. He immediately hid the concubine, gave her a drug to make her mute, and spread the news that Prince Xian had died for his country. When the news reached the capital, your emperor investigated. Since only the concubine and the guard knew the truth, he naturally found nothing and let it go. From then on, he took good care of Prince Xian's wife and children."
"So explosive? Does the Emperor have absolutely no control over the army?"
Everyone: What? He died in his concubine's bed? Even the Princess Consort was shocked and looked around in horror, wondering who had said it.
"That's right, Luo Bao. You don't know, Prince Xian is a womanizer and has absolutely no fighting skills. Back then, when he went to the border, it was purely for illicit pleasures, and incidentally, to cultivate his own power and plot a rebellion. There are still quite a few of Prince Xian's followers in the court."
Everyone was shocked. A rebellion? Had Prince Xian gone mad? There were still people supporting him? Prince Xian's faction was in a state of panic. Some were genuinely stubborn, believing that those who died for their country should have their wives and children protected, and that their petty squabbles were nothing. Others were truly planning to rebel against Prince Xian for the sake of gaining favor with the emperor. These people exchanged glances; it seemed that Qin Qianluo could not be allowed to live.
The Emperor's face was gloomy as he looked at the assembled officials, pondering silently. Prime Minister Su and Qin Qianluo exchanged a glance, looked at the officials, and lowered their eyes to think of a solution. Meanwhile, some military officers had already moved to block the Emperor and Qin Qianluo's path. General Mu also quietly changed his position and stood next to the Minister of Personnel, waiting for Qin Qianluo to continue speaking.
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